Former NBA star Isiah Thomas is enrolled at Cal -- as a graduate student.

But the 51-year-old Hall of Famer will not be playing basketball for the Golden Bears.

He is about 10 units shy of completing his master's degree in Cal's school of education, according to Mohamed Muqtar, who works in the students services office for Cal athletics.

"He's been here for a while," said Muqtar, who had lunch Wednesday with Thomas and Counting Crows frontman Adam Duritz. "He's very sharp. I really like him a lot. He's got a lot of good ideas."

Thomas played for coach Bob Knight at Indiana, then was a 12-time NBA All-Star. He averaged 19.2 points and 9.3 assists in 13 seasons with the Detroit Pistons.

Thomas coached the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks, then served as president of the Knicks.

Soccer

The Earthquakes announced a pricing structure for general seating for the proposed 18,000-seat soccer stadium that will begin construction Oct. 21.

Tickets will rise by an average of $1.60 per seat for 95 percent of seating in the new stadium, which will be located on Coleman Avenue across from Mineta San Jose International Airport.

Prices range from $20 to $130 for fans who are not season-ticket holders. The $130 tickets are for a few seats in the first row in the middle of the field. Most seats are being offered for $25 to $55. A pricing chart can be found at sjearthquakes.com/newstadium.

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"Our goal is to provide a world-class soccer experience at an affordable price," Earthquakes president Dave Kaval said in a prepared statement.

The stadium will feature a midfield club with 500 seats that includes a season parking pass and an invitation to future events. Each of these seats will be in the first five rows of their section. The Quakes also plan to feature a 1,400-person supporters' section with a private clubhouse.

The $60 million privately financed project will begin with a ceremonial groundbreaking Oct. 21.

Kaval told this newspaper that the Earthquakes are in negotiations with three Fortune 100 companies over naming rights, an important financial component to building the stadium. Kaval declined to identify the companies but said all three have an international footprint and some of the suitors are technology firms.

College basketball

Stanford's men's basketball schedule, which was announced Wednesday, features 15 opponents who qualified for the postseason last year and an appearance in the loaded Battle 4 Atlantis.

With the launch of the Pac-12 Networks, every Pac-12 home contest will be televised this season.

Stanford opens its season against USF on Nov. 9 at Oracle Arena in Oakland. Its home opener is Nov. 12 against Cal State Fullerton.

The Battle 4 Atlantis takes place Thanksgiving weekend in the Bahamas and includes Duke, Louisville and Missouri.

Stanford begins Pac-12 play Jan. 3 when USC visits.

Field hockey

Carolin Troncelliti scored three goals to lead Northwestern to a 4-1 victory over host Stanford.

Alex McCawley scored her third goal of the year for Stanford.

Staff writer Elliott Almond and Bay Area News Group contributed to this report.